KENANSVILLE — In conjunction with the National Week of the Young Child, the Duplin County Partnership for Children held a State of the Child Breakfast for a diverse group representing people from government, elected officials, health care providers, educators, legal representatives, business arena, religious leaders, child care providers, the press, along with its board members and staff, for an informative program regarding what the partnership is doing for the children of Duplin County.

Following the breakfast, the group was shown a portion of a conference held by Dr. Jack P. Shonkoff, from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, in which Shonkoff shared valuable information regarding the development of children and the way the brain develops in this process. “Child care is at the foundation of our economy and the economic development of our county and its productivity,” said Shonkoff. It is his contention that because so much of the business community requires for parents to be away from their children it is imperative that quality child care be provided for our children. “If we have not done something to positively affect a child’s development before the age of two, we are already behind in helping that child to develop fully into a productive citizen,” added Shonkoff. He emphasized that for optimal brain development in children, we must begin at conception to assist the child to develop as vision and hearing pathways that develop in the brain reach their peak growth by the fourth month of life and language develop peaks by the ninth month.

Joan Williams, executive director for the Duplin County Partnership for Children, reiterated Shonkoff in her remarks. “It is imperative to our industry and business that quality child care is available for our children if we are to have a viable work force. For that reason, child care has a great affect on the economy of not only our county but the state and nation.”

Program director for the National Children's Study, Dr. Deborah Bailey, shared how the Children's Study would benefit the overall picture of child development as they continue to conduct the study of men and women of Duplin County that volunteer to participate in the program. Duplin County is one of seven sites in North Carolina chosen to participate in The National Children's Study. This program, according to Bailey and the study website, will study children and their families, prior to conception through the child’s life up to 21 years of age. “This study will give us actual observed data that we will be able to combine with the statistical data to give us the full picture of how a child’s environmental factors affect their development from before birth to adulthood,” she said. Bailey also expressed her gratitude to the partnership for their assistance in helping to get the study operational.

The Duplin County Partnership for Children, from its conception, has attempted to develop a strong collaborative effort between the various agencies within the county to provide the best child care services possible to the citizens of Duplin County. Although the partnership is funded primarily by the state it also relies on contributions made from the private sector. A look at Duplin County’s demographics show that the total population of the county is 53,533 with 4,488 of those in the birth through age five category. Licensed/Regulated care for that age group totals 1,022 which is down and does not come near to reaching the maximum capacity of 2,000 currently available in the county. The child care work force of Duplin County is comprised of 238 highly qualified individual and the child care industry in Duplin produces gross receipts of $9,306,642 in 2008.

Linda Hadden, Partnership Board chairwomen and director of the Duplin County Library, commented on the effect the economy has had on the partnership, “It has been extremely difficulty on two occasions when we have met as a board to discuss and decide on where to make cuts to our budget. We have received some private funds but not enough to offset the cuts made by the state in our funding.” Hadden also was a charter member of the board that helped to start the partnership in Duplin County which has been around at least 14 years. “I have been here from the beginning and I feel that the partnership is like my child. In addition to improving the overall child care services to our county’s children, I also see that this program which was the first to truly bring together agencies to work together for the common goal. This board came together at the same table and has been consistently there over the years. Because of this joint effort we have made great strides in the improvement of opportunities for our children. It has truly been a joint effort.”

Williams also commented on the effects of the economic down turn on the partnership program. “The number of children that we are currently serving is down considerably as a result of the economy. Whether is because the parents, due to cutbacks, job loss or some other factor, have had to remove their child or children from our programs, or choose to use members of the family to care for their children. We are trying through our home services program to continue to serve these children.” Williams too shared her thoughts as to the benefits and success the partnership has seen since its conception. “The collaboration between the organizations and agencies involved in providing child care services has improved dramatically as a result of our program and the diverse group here today is evidence of that fact. There has also been a dramatic change in the perception of the people of Duplin County to a more accurate understanding of the child care provider as a professional rather than a baby-sitter. This is also reflected in the number of child care providers that have chosen to become better qualified or even more highly qualified on a totally volunteer bases on their part so as to provide the best care possible.” The number of three, four and five star rated child care facilities has seen a steady increase since the partnership began.

In an effort to honor the “Week of the Child” the partnership has participated in a variety of activities and events that include, “Child Sabbath” last Sunday, April 19, in which the partnership provided churches with bulletin inserts that emphasized the importance insuring good child development; having board members and staff going into the centers and homes of the children to read to them this week; the “State of the Child Breakfast” and then the open house that took place Saturday.

For more information or to contact the Duplin County Partnership for Children call, 910-296-2000 or go to their website at www.duplinsmartkids.com.

To contact Billy Todd, call 910-592-8137 ext. 117 or e-mail sigeneral@myclintonnc.com.